Adult AuDHD diagnosis and therapy

[AdultAuDHD]

Hello Everyone. I was diagnosed with Autism, ADHD and Alexithymia at age 51, so about 1.5 years ago. I've known since I was in my teens there was something different with me, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Things just didn't seem to happen for me like they seemed to do for others. I only found out by accident after speed reading an article about a woman my age who got diagnosed with Autism, only after her two teenaged sons were diagnosed. Now I have the "why" but I don't know what to do with it.

I can't go on ADHD meds as I have a recently discovered heart arrhythmia. I am seeing a naturopath for supplements and food sensitivities and I think that will help at least my gut health. The main problem for me is my career i.e. the lack thereof. I just get bored of work and can't figure out how to concentrate and find something tangible that suits me. At age 53.

My question is for anyone who has tried therapy for Autism and/or ADHD. Specifically what sort of doctor/medical professional did you see and did it help particularly with work-related issues? Thanks in advance.

[Mamamichl]

I do talk therapy. It helps me get my emotions out, but I had to look up what alexithemia. Not sure if talk therapy works the same with that. Some people do journaling too, but that doesn’t work for me.i actually work in aba therapy, but people who would be high functioning like us see through the therapy and it usually doesn’t work. It works better for those who are non verbal and need to gain resilience in environments. I’ve always had trouble with work too, but partially it’s because people don’t understand my disabilities. There is adhd meds that won’t affect the Arrhythmia (non stimulants).I’ve seen people here using those for heart conditions.

If you go the therapy route, know that all healthcare professionals have to have a synopsis/philosophy online. You can look up their name and licenses and they will describe a lot. It took me 3 hours of researching the ones that my insurance covered, but then I went from months of hating my counselors to one that understood me and my conditions.

[AdultAuDHD in reply to Mamamichl]

Thank you for your detailed response. You gave me a few things to look up that I hadn't thought about.

[Mamamichl in reply to AdultAuDHD]

To be honest, you helped me feel at home. I too had noticed in high school that I didn’t belong. I did well in school, but it was with a lot more effort than others. I felt more comfortable with the special education kids and created a clique because I didn’t want to be a loner. I knew something was different… off. I always thought it was my messed up family, but that was only part of it. If you want more engaging research, look up “how to adhd” and “adhd_love” on YouTube.

Oh… and it took 20 years of counseling and having to take shpts in the dark with providers before someone gave me the idea to research each provider online. It was a revelation.

[AdultAuDHD]

It seems we have a few things in common: I did well in school too, never caused trouble, didn't act out so it seems I masked well, even though I didn't know I masking. I did well enough that no one noticed anything off, me included.

Also like you, it seems I've had to find out things on my own without even suggestions from doctors, etc. I started speaking with a naturopath in the past few months as I feel I have gut issues (more annoyances than something horrible) that I couldn't diagnose. Now I found out that autistic people tend to have higher instances of gut issues than the rest of the population and a food sensitivity test seemed to show that, for me at least. So it seems I'm straddling the ADHD/Autism venn diagram trying to figure what causes me to be me and what if anything can I do about it!

I'll check those YouTube channels and thanks again for your helpful comments!